Joseph Allen @j_g_allen Twitter profile

Pinned Tweet

Joseph Allen

2 years

“There’s going to be a fundamental rebalancing in terms of how we think about indoor spaces," Allen says. "I think people won’t tolerate sick buildings. That era is over. Rightly so, and good riddance.” #HealthyBuildings

This scientist says cleaning indoor air could make us healthier—and smarter

The pandemic has given new urgency to Joseph Allen's quest to improve the air we breathe inside buildings

www.science.org

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

I see a lot of people - on both "sides" - making simple mistakes about masks. I've studied PPE, taught PPE, and overseen PPE programs, including teams implementing fit testing in hospitals, long before covid. A thread

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Sorcery

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

I cannot believe this headline is from May 7, 2021.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

3. Cloth masks work, just not as well as high filtration masks --> a 50% effective mask reduces inhaled dose by...50% --> when two people where this level mask, the combined efficacy is 75% It's wrong to say these "don't work"; correct to say they are "less effective" than N95

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

4. Surgical masks work I cringe when I see 'experts' say these masks leak so they don't work. Yes, some aerosol escapes out the side, but direction of airflow matters. Reducing the plume in the speaker's cone of emissions as they directly interact with others is key. And...

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

1. Masks work It's basic physics.

Masks Work. Really. We’ll Show You How (Published 2020)

A visual journey through the microscopic world of the coronavirus shows how masks provide an important defense against transmission.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

2. Not all masks are created equal N95/KF94/KN95 > surgical > cloth Here's my 90-second explainer from last winter

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Confused about N95, KF94, KN95, double-masking? You're not alone. Here is my 90-second explainer. Thanks to @GreaterBoston and @jimbraude for having me on.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

8. One-way masking is fine If you're vaccinated, and boosted, and wearing an N95, that's as low risk as anything in your life, *regardless of what anyone around you is doing*.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

9. For the newly "N95 or bust" crowd, I have something that will blow your mind. You know there are even better masks than N95s, right? RIGHT?? Google "N100" Cheers! -end-

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

...when someone say surgical masks don't work in hospitals, they're ignoring the benefit of reducing the aerosol jet in front of the person and thinking of PPE in isolation, ignoring airflow dynamics in the space. N95s better? Sure, and should be norm for high-risk areas.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

This is making a mockery of the past 20 months of my life.

32BJ SEIU /// #BuildingJustice 🧹✊🏽

@32BJSEIU

3 years

Our COVID-Busters are out in full force cleaning & disinfecting to make a safe return to the classroom possible. Good luck to all NYC students & staff on your first day back! #BacktoSchoolNYC

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

...in places with good ventilation and filtration, these 'escaped' aerosols out the side of the surgical mask dilute further before reaching someone. This is the exact situation in hospitals. So...

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

I made one of the earliest calls for universal masking, for that reason. April 2, 2020

Opinion | You need to wear a mask. Here’s how.

Everyone should be covering their faces. Here's how to do it correctly.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

6. There is a hierarchy of controls PPE is what we use as last resort. Note it is the 'least effective' control. Early in pandemic, we needed all. The vaccines moved us up the hierarchy. Masks were necessary as the bridge to the vaccines.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

8 degrees in Boston. No outdoor activities at school. My 9 year old: "So no mask breaks today? That's worse than freezing." Don't tell me 2 years of masking doesn't impact kids. Their risk is low, vaccines avail for all adults and kids, anyone who wants can mask. It's time.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Harvard is extending the vaccination requirement from students to *all* Harvard community members, including faculty, staff, and researchers.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

5. The benefit of mask depends on the 2 Fs: filtration and fit Most spend their time focused on filtration, but fit is critical. I wrote on this in April *2020*. (You've heard of the 'Rainbow Passage' and 'user seal check', right? RIGHT??)

Without training, N95 masks may not protect workers on the Covid-19 frontlines

Firefighters aren't given a mask and helmet and sent into burning buildings without first being trained how to use the equipment to protect themselves. We should be doing the same thing for health...

www.statnews.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

11 months

“It's the first time that the CDC has released a health-based ventilation target. It's evidence based, practical, feasible, and understandable. It can be achieved in buildings today, in offices, homes, schools, airports, and coffee shops.”

US CDC announces indoor air guidance for COVID-19 after 3 years

A day after the US Government formally lifted the COVID-19 public health emergency order on May 11—and 3 years into the pandemic—the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced...

www.thelancet.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

We're in big trouble. My Mom is in her 70s. Doc told her not to get vaccine: "99% of people fight off COVID, but vaccine only 93% effective" "hasn't been tested for safety" "haven't gotten it yet, so you must be protected" (she's locked down since March!?!) This is malpractice.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Study in Norway tested *all* contacts of 5 to 13 year olds with covid. They conclude "transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from children under 14 years of age was minimal in primary schools in Oslo and Viken, the 2 counties with the highest COVID-19 incidence"👇

Minimal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from paediatric COVID-19 cases in primary schools, Norway,...

An intense debate on school closures to control the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing in Europe. We prospectively examined transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from confirmed paediatric cases in Norwegian primary...

www.eurosurveillance.org

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Side note: On masks (and all controls), I think there is a danger of being on 'red alert' all the time. Pandemic is not like a hurricane where event happens and you march steadily toward recovery. Rather, it ebbs and flows. Controls should, too.

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

When risk was low (eg, NE in spring, summer, fall), so many stayed on DEFCON1. (Remember folks advocating for vaxxed to mask in VT when hosp <1/100,000 b/c they relied on CDCs flawed metrics which said ‘substantial risk’??) Set us up for failure this winter. Control fatigue.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

I study the impact of CO2 on human health so I figured I would weigh in on this JAMA article purporting to show masks create high and unsafe CO2 exposures for kids. (spoiler alert: they don't) (I'm not linking to the study because I'm certain it will be retracted) THREAD

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

This is why I didn't write about everyone needing an N95 until winter 2021. In my assessment, 3-layer or surgical masks were fine for the risk we faced. Alpha changed this for me. (I brought back in the 'Rainbow Passage' and 'user seal check' (fit!))

Opinion | Everyone should be wearing N95 masks now

With better masks, essential workers could have hospital-grade protections. What's stopping us?

www.washingtonpost.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

I'm not on Team 'Open Schools' I'm not on Team 'Close Schools' I'm on Team 'GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND PUT IN THE CONTROLS WE HAVE BEEN OUTLINING SINCE JUNE'

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

When we see things like this that are so fully detached from the scientific evidence we really need to be asking where this is coming from. Who is advising these schools?

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

1 year

Historic day. For 40 years we've been saddled with bare minimum ventilation standards that were not designed for health. Today, CDC released the 1st ever federal guidance on higher ventilation standards, and ASHRAE also released a doc for public comment🧵

Community, Work, and School

Actions that communities can take to slow the spread of COVID-19.

www.cdc.gov

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Quick nod to @AbraarKaran @RanuDhillon @sri_srikrishna who have been steadfast in calls for N95s since early on. Here they are in June 2020:

We Need Better Masks

The best hope for stopping the spread of Covid-19 and reviving the economy now is a mass-produced facial mask that meets five criteria. It would have to protect people nearly as effectively as N95...

hbr.org

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

“The kindergarten crisis of last year, when millions of 5-year-olds spent months outside of classrooms, has become this year’s reading emergency.” All of this was predictable, predicted, and preventable.

It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading (Published 2022)

The fallout from the pandemic is just being felt. “We’re in new territory,” educators say.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

7. Set control strategy (eg, masking) based on risk Two key risk factors are vax status and age. We continue to ignore this when setting control strategy, and instead opted for 'one size fits all'.

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Two of the most important determinants of COVID-19 risk are age and vax status. Imagine ignoring this when analyzing data, offering policy advice, setting control strategies... Source: CDC

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Crystal clear messaging from the White House: "The most common way COVID-19 is transmitted from one person to another is through tiny airborne particles of the virus hanging in indoor air for minutes or hours after an infected person has been there."

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Confused about N95, KF94, KN95, double-masking? You're not alone. Here is my 90-second explainer. Thanks to @GreaterBoston and @jimbraude for having me on.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

New CDC data on hospitalization rates —> hosp rate for a vaccinated adult is the same as unvaccinated teenager (4.4 v 5.4 per 100,000) —> hosp rate for vaccinated teenager is 4 per MILLION The risk to kids is very low. When will we absorb this info into decision-making?

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

I don’t understand all the shaming over WHCA. All vaxxed. All boosted. All tested. Anyone who wanted could mask. (Or could stay home) Shouldn’t we be lifting this up as an example of how to do events? The vaccines work, right? Same w tests? (And, yes, one-way masking works, too)

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

My 'cheat sheet' on masks: 1⃣N95 (if you can find) 2⃣KF94 (S. Korea) 3⃣KN95s (*only* if manufacturer holds a 'NIOSH Certificate') 4⃣ double-mask (cloth mask on top of surgical) 5⃣ surgical mask 6⃣ cloth mask that fits well Important details here👇

Opinion | Everyone should be wearing N95 masks now

With better masks, essential workers could have hospital-grade protections. What's stopping us?

www.washingtonpost.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Want to *see* why airflow and ventilation are important in schools? I've been working on this project with @nytimes and colleagues at @JarosBaumBolles for the past few months. Great to see it out in the world.

Why Opening Windows Is a Key to Reopening Schools (Published 2021)

A simulation of airflow in a real New York City classroom shows how simple ventilation and filtration can reduce the probability of coronavirus exposure.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

This is the week the dam broke. #CovidIsAirborne @linseymarr @jljcolorado @DFisman @kprather88 @AndrewMIbrahim , Julian Tang, Yuguo Li, Stephanie Dancer, @trishgreenhalgh , @chipatucsd , @zeynep

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Hospitalization rates, NYC: Unvaxxed: 66.6/100,000 Vaxxed: 2.9/100,000 Vax + Booster: 1.8/100,000 0-4 years old: 1.3/100,000

Mark D. Levine

@MarkLevineNYC

2 years

NEW: Update from @nycHealthy on NYC's BA.2 wave. Shows hospitalizations remain low but starting to rise—for the unvax'd. They're now *37.8* times more likely to be hospitalized than vax'd NYers. One thing remains true through all the ups & downs of this pandemic: VACCINES WORK.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Do not close the schools again. My latest, for @nytimes .

Opinion | We Learned Our Lesson Last Year: Do Not Close Schools (Published 2021)

The Omicron surge is scary. But schools must stay open.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

The costs of closing schools will haunt us for decades.

Opinion | We Learned Our Lesson Last Year: Do Not Close Schools (Published 2021)

The Omicron surge is scary. But schools must stay open.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

For me, I updated my recs on masks again once vaccines were widely available, to account for the change in risk to those who are vaccinated (and still recommended masks for unvaccinated)

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

If your playbook and recommendations have not already accounted for this, they’re out of date. #2022Playbook

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

CDC boxed themselves in bc they never addressed the two out-of-date metrics they use to guide masking: cases and test positivity. They set these pre-vaccine, pre-booster, pre-rapid test. They’re flawed - and biased - indicators of community spread and risk. Governors leading.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

1 month

The original sin of the pandemic👇

60 Minutes

@60Minutes

6 months

“The original sin of the pandemic was the failure to recognize airborne transmission,” says Harvard professor Joe Allen. He believes this lag in understanding cost tens of thousands of lives in the U.S.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

The vaccines work, right? And N95s work, right? Or did I miss something? If vaxxed/boosted, severe risk is low. If doesn't feel safe, wear N95 mask (they're very good.) A lot of the messaging out there getting awfully close to anti-vax/anti-mask...

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

So, we’re still just going to keep ignoring the 14,000,000 who got the J&J vaccine?

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

5 days for adults, but 10 days for kids - the group with the lowest risk from COVID, but highest costs of being ‘out’.

Robin Cogan 🟧

@RobinCogan

2 years

Overview of COVID-19 Isolation for K-12 Schools. Still following 10 days protocol for isolation for schools. via @CDCgov

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

If you're @-ing me that my piece is somehow reckless b/c I propose an off-ramp for school masking, but you haven't offered an alternative, you're kind of proving my point. CDC is most at fault here: they set adult mask off-ramp (albeit w/ flawed metrics) but not one for kids??

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

"One-Way Masking Works. If you’re vaccinated, boosted, and wearing an N95, you’re protected—no matter what others are doing." @olgakhazan

One-Way Masking Works

If you’re vaccinated, boosted, and wearing an N95, you’re protected—no matter what others are doing.

www.theatlantic.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

The vaccines work. Hard to understand how much doubt has been injected into the public psyche, from extremes on both sides.

Cliff Levy

@cliffordlevy

2 years

Revealing chart about Omicron hospitalizations in NYC: barely changed for the vaccinated. But big spike ⬆️ for unvaccinated.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 months

"Popcorn Lung" was coined when workers at a microwave popcorn packaging facility developed the disease after inhaling diacetyl, one of the chemicals used to create fake butter flavor. Diacetyl, and its many chemical cousins, create candy flavors, too. Fine to ingest; dangerous to…

Health

@health_com_

3 months

Popcorn lung, or bronchiolitis obliterans, is a chronic lung disease that causes coughing and shortness of breath that worsens with exercise. Click the photo to read the full article now. ⬇️

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

All of these cases happened when schools were closed. Yet another reminder that closing schools is not a covid mitigation strategy.

Harry Thomas

@DrHarryThomas

2 years

1,200 students and staff @AustinISD underwent Covid tests today… ONE THIRD tested positive. School starts in 2 days. H/T @MarietteHummel

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

4 years

When we opened windows, even just six inches, we consistently saw air-exchange rates above the “excellent” target of five air changes per hour Opening windows sounds too simple to be true Hand-washing isn’t complicated either But they work

Opinion | Want to buy schools time? Open the windows.

A simple yet elegant solution grounded in science.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Note from Boston-based, very liberal friend, regarding kids school day closures, canceling after school activities while adults carry on, seeing what it’s doing to their child and friends: “The mass destruction of psychological health is the big public health story.”

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

"an unvaccinated 10-year-old, who may look like the very picture of COVID vulnerability heading into the school year, faces a lower mortality risk than a vaccinated 25-year-old, whom we might today regard as close to safe as can be" - @dwallacewells

Underestimating COVID’s Age Discrimination

In the breakthrough era, age matters as much as vaccination status.

nymag.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

The P-town study was not a study that should have been used as the basis for an abrupt change to national policy. It had (at least) three major issues: 1. exposure misclassification 2. generalizability 3. weak proxies 🧵

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

8 months

“Ventilation”. Above the fold. Not over it.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Common mask questions answered in this article by @rddysum -What's up w double masking? -Cloth v. N95 v KF94 v blue surgical mask? -Counterfeits? -Good fit? -Single use? Features advice from @linseymarr @MonicaGandhi9 @Smogdr @NebraskaMed (+me!)

Double Face Masks? N95? Protect Yourself Against New Covid-19 Variants With These Mask Upgrades

The guidance around masks is changing. Here’s the latest that you need to know.

www.wsj.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

SCHOOLS. It’s not too late, it’s not too hard, and it’s not too expensive to improve air quality in your classroom —> portable air cleaner with HEPA filter —> size it right for your room —> place close to center as possible —> turn it on EASY details in thread

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Imagine we spent as much time talking about ventilation effectiveness as we do vaccine effectiveness?

David Elfstrom

@DavidElfstrom

2 years

Swiss study finds SIX TIMES the cases in poorly ventilated classrooms (those with over 2000 ppm CO₂) compared to better-ventilated ones. #COVIDCO2 #Ventilate2Educate #COVIDisAirborne H/T @SamJCauston

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@j_g_allen

3 years

Aerosols are driving Covid-19 transmission. The evidence is incontrovertible. We found: --> almost 90% of within-room transmission by aerosol --> about 40% due to 'long range' aerosol (within-room, beyond 6 feet) Ventilation/Filtration matter. A lot. #HealthyBuildings

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

"just about every building you’ve ever walked into is underventilated with low levels of filtration. That’s b/c the standard that governs ventilation rates is a bare minimum not designed for health." We need Operation Warp Speed for clean *indoor* air 🧵

We need an Operation Warp Speed for clean indoor air

Here are six recommendations for what the government can do today.

thehill.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Colleagues/journalists: this study on kids and diabetes that’s going around is really bad. Jump to the section w the 4 limitations they list and you’ll see what I mean in one second. It’s not the usual minor stuff. Eye-popping.

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Careful with this study on diabetes. Worth skipping ahead to the limitations section… 1. Single ICD code 2. Differential exposure misclassification 3. No covariates (obesity?!) 4. only included those seeking care + insured (actually a great teaching case for EPI 101!)

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@j_g_allen

2 years

You know what has no drop in efficacy against Omicron? --> Good ventilation and filtration

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@j_g_allen

6 months

"It may be the biggest takeaway from the pandemic." Indoor Air. Airborne Transmission. Healthy Buildings. On @60Minutes . Sunday. (!) @DrLaPook @linseymarr

60 Minutes

@60Minutes

6 months

When COVID-19 surfaced in 2020, the medical field missed something, and it cost lives. Airborne viruses can travel much further than originally thought. To curb infection, we should have focused on indoor air systems. @DrLaPook reports, Sunday.

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@j_g_allen

3 years

The GOOD: CDC supports improving ventilation in schools The BAD: it's buried in their new guidance The SOLUTION: let's unbury it and make sure every school knows about it! --thread--

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

8 months

Great question from @jdickerson last night that *everyone* should be asking about schools: "So, Joe, if it's not that hard to do, not super expensive, better health outcomes and better schooling outcomes, what's up, why hasn't this money been spent?"

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@j_g_allen

1 year

New study on classroom ventilation —> “Every 1 L/s per person increase in ventilation rate decreased the annual absence rate by 5.59 days” @WargockiPawel

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

The rapid test debacle infuriates me more than any other of our other blunders (yes, even ventilation, if you can believe it...). Just so obvious, so needed, so helpful, so easy, so cheap. Why didn't this happen in the US is the question we need to be asking...

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Reporters: might be worth exploring *why* there are so many more tests approved in Europe than the US. Who is/are the gatekeeper(s) in the US preventing us from having more of these rapid tests? Is this keeping supply low, and prices artificially high?

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

A vaccinated 16-year old in Vermont should be required to wear a mask in school? VERMONT ------------ DEATHS: 0 HOSP: <1 PER 100,000 CASES: 2 per 100,000 VACCINATED: 85% over age 12

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

5 months

The movement toward real-time indoor air quality monitoring is growing. --> Boston and Denver public schools have real-time IAQ monitoring --> NYC and Mass working on legislation to require it --> Amazon rolled this out globally in corporate offices

It’s Time for Companies to Monitor Workplace Air Quality

Organizations that aren’t yet thinking about how to implement real-time air-quality monitoring in their buildings should do so soon. First, because any employee or customer can now collect rudiment...

hbr.org

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

For. Deep. Cleaning. "The Detroit school district is moving to remote instruction for three Fridays in December in an effort to slow the spread of COVID and give the staff time to deep clean schools." That's it. I quit.

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

How long are we going to keep failing kids? We have every tool we need to keep kids and adults safe in schools. The know-how has been there for 16 months, same with the money. We now have rapid tests and vaccines, too. Gross failure of leadership.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

We are still not doing right by the 15M who got the JNJ vaccine. After they were told ‘take the first shot that comes your way”, they were then ignored. In case this helps others…People *very* close to me who got JNJ as first shot followed it with an mRNA booster.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

The original sin was the failure to recognize airborne transmission "the early clues were obvious...nearly all spread indoors...and superspreading events w 90% attack rates that could not possibly be explained by droplets or everyone touching the same elevator button" #WHIAQ

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

On risk to children. Q: It’s as low or even lower than risks we’ve already accepted like the seasonal flu or common cold? Is that accurate? A: That’s right, it’s incredibly small. Their chances of a bad outcome if they get COVID is extraordinarily small.

Why UCSF's Bob Wachter will soon join team 'Vaxxed and Done'

SFGATE spoke to Wachter about the reaction to his “Vaxxed and Done” tweet.

www.sfgate.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Boston wastewater thru 1/10 (🧵) -that peak and steep drop I wrote about 3 days ago? it's happening as expected, and right on schedule -great news; hopeful this brings relief to Boston area healthcare system and healthcare workers -now a familiar pattern w/ Omicron

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

One-way masking works. "For anyone who fears moving away from universal masking, the great news is that they can continue to wear an N95 mask — along with being vaccinated and boosted — and live a low-risk life regardless of what others around them are doing."

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

If someone you follow is gloating/celebrating/smirking/gleeful at the news CDC Director got covid, that should tell you everything you need to know about them and their character. (Professors doing this. Truly cannot believe it.)

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

1 year

We are on the verge of an indoor air quality revolution, and it could be among the most important public health victories of the 21st century. My thoughts on the latest ventilation targets released by CDC and ASHRAE.

Opinion | We might be on the verge of an indoor air quality revolution

Stronger ventilation standards could represent a monumental shift.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

Hospitalizations are *NOT* increasing in adolescents, as is being widely reported. Not sure why CDC cut the data at April 24 in this new June 4 report. Current data are avail through the end of May (?), and it tells a different story... LEFT: end of May RIGHT: end of April 1/n

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

4 years

If you’re not outraged we don’t have these rapid tests yet, you’re not paying attention. $1 paper-based at home 15 min result Not a pipe dream - these exist Thanks to ⁦ @michaelmina_lab ⁩ for his work informing the public. #RapidTestsNow

New Test Paradigm Needed for SARS-CoV-2 | Harvard Magazine

Michael Mina maintains a new testing regimen could end the COVID-19 pandemic—in three weeks.

www.harvardmagazine.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

The continued minimization of mental health impacts to kids is just stunning.

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

1 year

Current ventilation rates are not designed for Covid-19 (or any other respiratory pathogen) That's why our Lancet Covid-19 Commission Task Force on Safe Work/School/Travel published this report. 🧵

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

I’m at an in-person buildings conference today and love what they’re doing to address different comfort levels. First: all vaxxed. Second: the color of your badge signals your comfort level: 🟢 handshakes ok 🟡 elbow bumps and some distance 🔴 keep extra distance, please

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

It's been hard to describe why ventilation matters in words. With pictures, it's crystal clear. Our work with @JarosBaumBolles and the incredible visualization team @nytimes led by @BedelSaget is front page today. #HealthyBuildings

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

The crisis kids face at this point is not the virus, but the cost of many years of disrupted school. The overriding goal should be to maximize time in the classroom and make school look and feel much like it did before the pandemic started Me for @nytimes

Opinion | Here’s What School Covid Policies Should Look Like This Year (Published 2022)

The crisis kids face at this point in the pandemic is not the virus but the cost of so many years of disrupted school.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

The hospitalization rate for vaccinated school-aged kids, during the peak of the Omicron surge in New York, is 2-3 per million. Source: NYS Dept of Health, January 7 report

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

This article I wrote w @jenkinshelen focused on forcing ourselves to ask a hard question: "What are our goals?" We used masks as one example, but could've used others In this thread I'll use Yale and their 99% vaxxed to ask "What are Yale's goals?" 1/n

Opinion | The Hard Covid-19 Questions We’re Not Asking (Published 2021)

It’s time for the U.S. to define what the goals are for Covid-19.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

During peak of Omicron in NYS, risk of hosp for unvaxxed kid is ~1/100,000. Risk to vaxxed is 2-3 per million. Plus, vax avail for all adults for 9+ months. On top of that, anyone who wants to wear mask can and should - one-way masking works. Thank you @ErinBurnett @OutFrontCNN

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

Make no mistake, the costs of closing schools is high. Too many have gotten casual about this. A thread.

Opinion | We Learned Our Lesson Last Year: Do Not Close Schools (Published 2021)

The Omicron surge is scary. But schools must stay open.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

This is indoors, unmasked. If you think this is totally fine for the vaccinated Mayor of Boston (as I do; happy birthday @wutrain !), we should ask why vaxxed kids or teachers in school need to be masked, or why office workers in fully vaxxed office need to be masked…

Michelle Wu 吳弭

@wutrain

2 years

Celebrating 37 at Dumpling Kingdom! 🥟🥳

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

“The case for airborne transmission is airtight. Nearly all spread happens indoors in underventilated spaces.”

Dr. Joseph Allen Presenting at White House Summit on Indoor Air Quality

Dr. Joseph Allen Presenting at White House Summit on Indoor Air Quality (Picture: The White House. Watch the full summit on the White House’s YouTube channel.) October 11, 2022 – Dr. Joseph …

www.hsph.harvard.edu

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

A thread from @TheLancet @CovidCommission on school closures: --> 195 countries closed schools during the pandemic, affecting more than 1·5 billion children and young people and posing enormous long-term and unrecoverable costs to them, their parents, and the economy. 🧵1/n

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

6 months

For the record, here's the perspective about airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 that @linseymarr and I submitted to three different medical journals starting 18 March 2020. Rejected *without review* everywhere. Eventually published in Indoor Air in July.

Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

6 months

The Air We Breathe | Sunday on 60 Minutes via @CBSNews @DrLaPook @linseymarr

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

1 year

Higher ventilation rates in schools associated with better math test scores. This study, and many more, in the Harvard Healthy Buildings program report, "Schools for Health":

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

How is it that the vast majority of the $170 BILLION in **EMERGENCY** funding for schools, incl for infrastructure improvement, has not been spent? eg, as of May, LA “hasn’t spent **ANY** of the $2.57 billion in American Rescue Plan money it received last year.”

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

2 years

As Harvard’s Allen has written, “For anyone who fears moving away from universal masking, the great news is that they can continue to wear an N95 — along with being vaxxed/boosted — and live a low-risk life regardless of what others around them are doing.”

Opinion | Let Kids Take Their Masks Off After the Omicron Surge (Published 2022)

There’s a cost to making kids cover their faces indefinitely.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

SARS-CoV-2 spreads thru the air There is little, if any, outdoor transmission (not even in large groups) How do you make indoors more like outdoors? --> VENTILATION It's easy 🧵

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

1 year

This is an embarrassment for our field. People are that afraid to hear a panel discussion with someone they disagree with, so they attack her relentlessly, activate their followers, and create such a hostile environment that she is forced to withdraw??

Leana Wen Skips APHA Talk Following Threats Against Her

APHA stands by decision to have her on panel focused on challenges facing public health officials

www.medpagetoday.com

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Joseph Allen

@j_g_allen

3 years

And…ventilation + filtration Come on, already - it’s been 18 months of us saying this, with indisputable evidence that this is a respiratory virus that spreads through the air, nearly entirely indoors and in underventilated spaces. (Another) missed opportunity.

Children's Hospital Association

@hospitals4kids

3 years

Today, @nytimes and @latimes featured our message to all Americans. It’s urgent that we take the scientifically proven measures to protect our children: - Get vaccinated. 💉 - Wear masks, especially in schools. 😷 - Social distance and wash hands. 🤲

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